Google may be trying to save Glass users from needing tethering plans

Google Glass sometimes needed tethering just to share data from a smartphone.

Google may have tweaked its Google Glass so that users can share their smartphone data connection to the headsets without paying a tethering fee, according to a report from CNET. Nick Starr, a Google Glass Explorer Edition user, discovered the data-sharing feature.

Previously Google Glass required that users pay extra for a tethering plan with their carrier in order to be able to share their smartphone’s data connection with the device. A new version of the companion app, XE9, allows the connection to be shared and data to be transmitted from one device to another absent an upgraded tethering plan.

Google Glass never required a tethering plan, per se—Nexus phones, for instance, can interact with Glass sans tethering. One commenter on Starr's post points out that the Samsung Galaxy S 4 prohibits tethering via Bluetooth, normally. With the latest version of the XE9 app, that user was able to have his Glass and phone interact via Bluetooth, without the Wi-Fi tether he normally has to employ.

A handful of other users confirmed that the interdevice connection appeared to work without a tethering plan, though at least one commenter on Starr’s post stated that the connection worked for a while and then stopped. He was only able to reestablish the connection once he re-upgraded to a tethering plan.

Google released the updated XE9 app last week, which now includes features like remote control via smartphone and integration with Google apps accounts. The release notes did not include any information about the necessity, or lack thereof, of tethering. We’ve reached out to Google for comment and will update this article if we hear back.